I think Lad has told us - he ignored me.
Generally speaking, if you ignore enough of what other people say, you can make an argument against the remnants.
So I will take it micro, to that micro people can understand.
Raisng the MW does not occur in a vacuum. There are effects. One of the most immediate is on the cost to the provider of goods and services. Giving one's workforce a 25%-50% increase does that. The owner/manager will have to find a way to respond - less workers, higher prices, both - but they will have to do something. And they will. It may take time, but after a while, we will have settled into a new reality. As a person who once worked for minimum wage ($1.25/hr.) I can tell you that years later, there are people still doing those jobs for MW. Higher wage, yes, but not so much higher in terms of buying power.
But the MW is just the first domino. Surrounding jobs will also need boosts above and beyond MW to keep relative pace. Let's say right now fast food workers in my area make $8.50 (that what the sign in the window says) and roofers make $15. Now raise the the MW to $15, who the hell is going to climb on a roof in 100 degree weather when they can make the the same money in a ACed McD's? So to entice workers to put on roofs, they will need to make $25. Now a new roof costs the insurance company more, and how will they respond? By raising rates!!! So my homeowners goes up. Your rent goes up as your landlord tries to cover extra costs.
Throw a rock in a pond, and the ripples spread out. I will say again, this does not happen in a vacuum. Libs seem to think all it does is make MW workers better off. It raises prices. It raises COL. And after we have raised COL, the MW worker is right back where he started - unable to support a middle class lifestyle on a MW job.
$15 is an extreme raise. But any amount over $15 is more extreme. Whether $16 or $116, it doesn't matter. The burger joint can pay $100 easy - if it raises the price of a #1 combo to $50. Customers will pay that, once they have gotten the compensatory raises from their employers. The absolute numbers do not matter so much.
At $100 MW, a fast food worker would make $208K. Do you think they are all going to buy new cars and big houses with their new wealth? No, they will still be at the bottom.
I have tried to discuss this with you as plainly as I can, but if you are just going to smugly ignore it all, I guess I have failed.
I first heard of the
Laffer curve more than three decades past. Always thought of it as representing a good reason to lower taxes. Glad you concur. Sorry you think I am ignorant and stupid. You would think 40 years of running businesses and an MBA would not have left me as stupid as you think I am.
"If taxes are too high along the Laffer Curve, then they will discourage the taxed activities, such as work and investment, enough to actually reduce total tax revenue. In this case, cutting tax rates will both stimulate economic incentives and increase tax revenue."